The NetWare Strikes Back
Articles and Tips: article
NetWare 5 Developer Program Manager
Developer Services
01 Mar 1998
The NetWare Strikes Back
Ever wonder why some movies turn out to be great? Here's how you recognize a soon-to-be classic: everyone tells everyone else how great the movie is, people enjoy it over and over, and it makes a lot of money for the producers. Oh, and let's not forget the "feel" factor. Great movies always tug at the emotions. The same is true of successful software productions: a "hit" software product just "feels right" when used, it makes a lot of money for the company that produced it, and the name usually becomes a legend.
A great movie begins with the producers and directors. And so it is when a developer chooses a software company to work with. The company must have a proven track record. Professional actors make it much easier for directors to "nail that scene" and create a great movie. The developer's tools are a good compiler, a good debugger, a complete SDK, support, training, and testing. Finally, movie producers go with a solid script. Software developers who want a successful network application must also develop to a solid network OS so their program will be valuable for users.
Developers concerned about Novell's viability should know this: NetWare is the number one network server OS in the world with over 3.8 million servers and 79 million users. Novell shipped over one million servers in 1997 and is forecast to grow that number by 10% per year through the year 2000. Solutions from companies such as IBM, Oracle, and Computer Associates are available and fully supported on NetWare 4 and 5. Developers who want to succeed are also concerned about their return on investment. For OEM's, Novell's strong distribution channel understands networks and customer needs. Software developers realize it takes more that just a solid foundation to develop software. What is needed is a complimentary cast or set of tools to get the job done right and make a big impression.
Critical tools that will catch a developer's eye are the new source and assembly-level debuggers that cover the Java and scripting arenas as well. For C-level programming, Novell is working to address developer's tools concerns and assures developers that more is coming.
Although there are tremendous opportunities for developing networking products, the rapidly developing internet marketplace must allow platform portability and application manageability. Novell's Open Solution Architecture (OSA) allows developers to build applications that seamlessly access services across intranets, extranets, and the Internet. With Open Solutions Architecture, Novell is enhancing and extending the 100% Pure Java model of "Write Once, Run Anywhere" portability by enabling developers to leverage attributes that make their applications easier to register, install, configure, manage and update across the network.
Open Solutions Architecture isn't just about Java; developer interfaces to networking services will be through class libraries, JavaBeans, scripting languages (Visual Basic*, JavaScript*, Perl), and C/C++ APIs. In addition, developers can build and deploy inherently manageable and secure applications and solutions across the internet and company internets using network services such as Novell Directory Services (NDS), Novell Licensing Service (NLS), Zero Effort Network (Z.E.N), and more.
NetWare 5's solid script or foundation is its new kernel. At the application level, the kernel provides an environment optimized for networking. It runs with unprecedented speed and dependability and enhances reliability when developing kernel-level services. Enhancements such as native IP, and a single scalable and secure multiprocessor kernel will optimize Java for complete server-side development access. NetWare 5 provides multiprocessor support for up to 32 processors. In addition to the new kernel, NetWare 5 offers Memory Protection for added fault tolerance, as well as Virtual Memory, to allow additional memory resources without adding memory to a system.
NetWare 5 builds on the past fourteen years of kernel-level development and network optimization that have made the product and the company famous. The overhead of a general purpose operating system is removed for serious developers that require enterprise level performance on Intel based hardware. Application developers that require either the scalability of a lean kernel level execution environment or the portability of the Java execution environment can leverage NetWare 5's development infrastructure for enterprise or quick application development and deployment.
Another essential part of the solid NetWare 5 platform is the Novell Storage Services (NSS) that provides unprecedented new scalability, reliability and performance. Maximum file size support goes from 2GB to 8TB. The maximum number of files supported is now two to the sixty-fourth. Mount and remount times are now measured in seconds, not hours. Additionally, there is a fixed memory footprint eliminating the linear relationship between number of directory entries and RAM requirements.
Great movies and great software apps don't happen by chance. The next time you see a movie and the audience sits in awe as the credits scroll you'll know you've just experienced a masterpiece. And after you've developed a software app for NetWare 5, your end users will sit back in their chairs after trying your product and say, "That was a classic."
* Originally published in Novell AppNotes
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The origin of this information may be internal or external to Novell. While Novell makes all reasonable efforts to verify this information, Novell does not make explicit or implied claims to its validity.